Holiday Inspiration for Marketers

Hey, how are you? My name is Maria Hayhow and I’m the newest member of Distilled Seattle! It is safe to say I am nowhere near ready for the holidays, but I have been giving a great deal of thought to holiday-centric content. Social media is a great avenue to spread the holiday cheer. Even during this festive and exciting time of the year we all could use a little inspiration to take our campaigns to the next level. So I thought I’d direct your attention to some examples of companies creating great holiday-centric content along with a few friendly holiday reminders to get you into the spirit of things...

Pin the StockingsRetailers on Pinterest reaped a good harvest post-Thanksgiving, with Black Friday and Cyber Monday more than tripling revenue sent to online retailers.

User photo-sharing is translating to consumer purchasing and retailers are taking note. According to IBM Digital Analytics Benchmark, Pinterest is a front-runner in this space, with holiday shoppers 77% more than shoppers referred from Facebook.

Luxury retailer Nordstrom was quick to transfer their Pinterest following’s input into their in-store displays, highlighting “Top Pinned” items with Pinterest logo tags. Target has adopted a similar approach with their recently launched Awesome Shop beta, inviting users to either pin or purchase “Top Pinned” items.

Even Pinterest has gone a step further than usual online retail categories like “Gifts for Guys Who Love Tech”, and featured internet personalities like Guy Kawaski’s Pinterest board gift guide “Gizmo Gifts for Geeks.”

Polyvore is also stepping up in the social shopping space with online retailers like Modcloth investing in its platform that drives a higher AOV than Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest combined. Modcloth’s #MerryModcloth collection uses Polyvore’s curation and algorithms to effectively rival a holiday in-store boutique experience.

These efforts to blur social with ecommerce will likely hold great benefit during the biggest buying season of the year. Consider ringing in the New Year with a cross-platform strategy, using social platforms to drive traffic to your site and to the checkout.

Drink and Be Merry!Holiday celebrations and ringing in the New Year means there will be plenty o’ holiday cheer.

Social media is always abuzz with drinking tweets and videos during the holidays. So it’s no wonder beverage brands are looking to cheers with their followers.

Budweiser UK’s Tweet Powered Knitbot is powered by #Jumpers4Des tweets, producing festive knit jumpers for designated drivers, found in the Limited Edition Christmas jumper packs. The sweaters are a festive way for consumers to say, ‘I’m not drinking cause I’m driving the sleigh.’

Companies can promote their mission by inviting users to share in the spirit of giving to causes or charities they support. Think about ways your brand could better display your companies’ values and charitable ventures through platforms that invite creative content sharing. Don’t Forget the WrappingThe National Retail Federation forecasts an average of more than $200 holiday spend will be directed towards things like wrapping and cards.

Tis’ the season for sparkle and pizazz and so Social platforms should invest time and money in to making their offerings appear personalized too.

Barney’s NY has outfitted some of their products into a collection of festive .gifs. The .gifs are strategically placed on their Tumblr for sharing and their Instagram for discovering.

Gap has turned to VSCO to launch its holiday “Make Love” campaign. The VSCO photos are on Gap’s Holiday Gift Guide, which highlights various VSCO commissioned artists in Gap apparel that resonates with their photographic stylings.

Companies can make their holiday seasons more merry and bright by choosing media sharing methods that complement their brand. Examine the landscape of social platforms and sharing functions to choose a medium that builds rapport with your current and potential audience. Treat YoursELF The holiday season can be equal parts stressful and exciting. Taking a breath or some time to decorate can alleviate holiday stress.

Social campaigns that acknowledge such stress can create a sense of reprieve and resonance with their audience.

Lucy active wear has created a holiday campaign that highlights a novel way to combat holiday stress with their #ChildsPose campaign. Users can see and share the fun responses to holiday stressors through the Child’s Pose video, gifs and tweets.

Michael’s Stores Holiday Helpline has been deployed across Twitter and Facebook to help frantic last minute crafters amidst possible craftastrophes. Helpline users can occupy their tiny elves with Michael’s Live Elf, an interactive website where they can build their wish lists and listen to a live elf react to their wishes.

G+ is also offering some reprieve by automatically applying twinkle and snow features, through Auto Awesome technology. G+ Users can enjoy snowfall without shoveling and twinkle without light-stringing by simply uploading their sparkly or snow-filled photos.

(Captured here in the merry and bright Distilled Seattle office!)

Companies can cozy up to potential consumers by offering a shareable content to either console or delight customers. Look at your brand personality and user personas to explore ways to better connect your customers to your content.

I hope this post is helpful and maybe leads you to take some risks in the upcoming year! Have you invested in holiday-centric strategies? Any good results or lessons learned? Share your experiences as comments and let’s discuss.

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